1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of medical imaging, and, more particularly, to combined magnetic resonance-optical coil for prostate, cervix and rectum imaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various diagnostic imaging methods are currently used for the diagnosis of prostate, cervix and rectum cancers. Modern diagnostic imaging techniques include magnetic resonance (“MR”), computer tomography (“CT”), ultrasound (“US”) and nuclear medicine (e.g., Positron Emission Tomography (“PET”), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (“SPECT”)). A more accurate diagnosis can be provided by combining the different imaging techniques. In particular, anatomical information (e.g., bones and organs) from an anatomical imaging technique may be enriched with optical information from an optical imaging technique.
The different imaging techniques are typically combined during post-processing. Post-processing is generally time-consuming. Further, accurate combinations of anatomical and optical modalities are generally only possible with rigid structures, such as the brain. However, even the brain has minor movement, which can potentially render the combinations inaccurate.